No Rest for the Nerdy – Vol. 52

When it rains it pours. Welcome back from the gaming drought!

by Erik, Joey, Mike, Alex & Paul Feb 3rd, 2012

We never stop playing video games. That’s a fact. Even after we call it quits for the week we still look forward to getting home and continuing our digital conquests. It’s our life blood. So we thought it would be fun to share with everyone what our gaming intentions are for the weekend so you guys can get a sense of what we're playing and enjoying on a weekly, non-formal basis. Yes, this concept isn't new to the internet. But hey, we kind of want to join in on the fun. Can you blame us for that? So without further ado, here’s what we’re playing this weekend that will forfeit any semblance of rest…

Feel free to sound off below to let us know what your gaming plans are this weekend.

Mike White (@theWhitestMike): The smuggling must go on! Joey and I are hitting up Star Wars: The Old Republic a few more times this weekend. It’s slow going in terms of the stretch of time it takes us to level due to scheduling conflicts, but the experience earned per hour is more efficient. Aside from that, it’s also just more enjoyable to have someone tagging along in voice chat with you. We finally learned the out of combat sprint, which makes traveling from ‘A’ to ‘B’ on foot easier, but our overweight characters never get out of breath or begin to sweat profusely. Strange.

When I have some time for myself this weekend, it’s all about Diablo 3. A new wave of beta invites went out this week, so if you’re registered and have been waiting patiently like I was, check your inbox. It also wouldn’t hurt to log into your Battle.net account and see if the beta client pops up there.

For the brief amount of time I was able to play last night, I was impressed. Sure, it’s been something like seven or eight years since I played Diablo 2 with consistency, but I was thrust right back into that eerie mood as soon as the music kicked in. The game looks and feels updated, but familiar. I’m hoping this will be like Pokemon: Black & White; similar to it’s predecessors in all the right ways with quality adjustments that refine the gameplay.

Erik Norris (@Regular_Erik): I’ve got two games on my docket this weekend: The Darkness II and the Jak & Daxter Collection. As I stated on this week’s Next Gen News podcast, I’m clearly more excited for the HD remasters the Jak & Daxter Collection offers, but I haven’t written off The Darkness II. Not by a long shot.

In fact, The Darkness II is taking precedence this weekend, as I’m trying my damnedest to have a review ready for early next week. I’m only a few hours into the game’s story, but I will say it’s already surprising me with some touching moments amidst all the gunfire and bodies being torn asunder. Who would have thought?

As for the Jak & Daxter Collection, I can’t wait to start this one. I LOVED the Jak & Daxter trilogy, so getting to relive those three games with touched up graphics is a dream come true. Honestly, the Jak & Daxter trilogy probably ranks in my top five gaming trilogies of all time, so that should put into perspective how much I’m looking forward to playing these titles again. Man, I love me some ottsel action.

Alex Keen (@dbldn): I’m still playing games that I haven’t finished. Some of these games are over a year old. So, since developers aren’t putting out new games worth buying it’s time to play catch up.

After a couple of brutally busy days in life, I hope to reinvest my time playing Super Mario Galaxy 2. I’m 55 stars in on level sex and desperate to get closer to the end. The game is more challenging than I expected and it has been tough to find 60 minute clips to play when I wasn’t falling asleep with wii-mote in hand.

Off the TV, I continue to build my Tiny Tower. Right now it stands 43 floors high and I think I’ll call it a day at floor 50. I can’t imagine continuing on when I’m only halfway there. This game was a blast when I only had 11 or 12 floors and 15 residents. But with nearly 60 residents and tons of stores I’m too busy micromanaging to enjoy the experience.

Joey Davidson (@JoeyDavidson): Good god, in an instant I’m balls deep in four games all over again. I guess that “dead time” of the year is officially over.

I’m wrapping up Resident Evil: Revelations this weekend, for sure. My review will be in on Monday, but I’ll say this now: it’s the best non-Nintendo game made for the Nintendo 3DS so far. It’s a great reason to buy the portable and one of the best entries in the RE series. I loved Resident Evil 4, and Revelations brings the series back to that vibe.

I also got a review copy of Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii. Erik should remember that one as we dumped 100s of yen into the arcade machines in Japan in order to play it. It’s ‘effing nuts.

I’m also like four hours into Kingdoms of Amalur. The game is huge. The art style has been much better than I thought it would be. I can’t say much about the title outside of that until the embargo lifts, but I am having fun.

Finally, it’s more Star Wars: The Old Republic this weekend with Mike when he and I have a chance to play. We’re going at it in quick blasts, so I don’t think I’m getting a normal MMO experience here. Still, the story alone has been worth my time so far.

Paul Tamburro (@PaulTamburro): This weekend I shall hopefully be picking up my copy of Resident Evil: Revelations for the 3DS. My experiences with the franchise thus far have been decidedly mixed. I have a couple of friends who are diehard fans and, after spending almost an entire 24 hours a year or two ago watching them attempt to complete Resident Evil 2 (they failed) I felt as sick as a Left 4 Dead Boomer at the thought of seeing another zombie.

As I can imagine is the case with most gamers, RE4 well and truly hooked me back in and left me wanting more from the series, before RE5 came in guns blazing and ruined everything. It’s not that RE5 was a bad game – it just wasn’t a particularly good one.

However, now that the trailer for Resident Evil 6 has been released (excellent timing by the way Capcom) I’ve found myself struck down with a severe case of Resi fever, with the only cure being to shoot the undead in dodgy 3D on the train into town. I was also going to pick up a copy of Soul Calibur V this weekend, too, but after reading one Mr Erik Norris’ review of it I think my money is best spent elsewhere – like on Modern Warfare 3 map packs. I’m joking, of course. My money is going to remain firmly in my wallet for the next two weeks until Twisted Metal rears its beautiful, oil-slicked head. What’s that? The demo has been released today?! Goodbye, social life. I knew ye well.